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Thinning VG10...

I've had good results thinning my blue, white, and a few other if my carbon knives, but cants seem to get the hang of VG10. Should I use th same standard procedure, just starting at a lower grit, or maybe even a diamond stone, or is there a trick I am missi g here. I'm thinking its just because its harder, correct?

Start with a diamond plate if you can spare the diamonds, or a concrete block if you can't. VG-10 is usually between 59 and 62 HRC, so it's not particularly "hard" compared to white or blue carbon treated the same. It's just a colossal pain.

I'm a noob in regards to sharpening, but VG is stainless, and in my limited experience so far- is very gummy and weird to sharpen in general. Quite unresponsive. The hardness has to do with who made the knife btw- there isn't a standard hardness in regards to the steel in general. Correct me if I'm wrong here somebody- but it has to do with the overall heat treatment process when forging the knife. There's VG-10 knifes that range between 56(low end probably) and 62-3 HRC. So far I've found that higher HRC steels are more responsive, and more enjoyable IMO to grind. But once again- I'm a noob. And I'm sure somebody else here can give you a little more insight.

The VG-10 wear resistance is not exceptional, and thinning it as monosteel is quite easy in fact. Other stainless may be gummy, especially soft cladding steel, VG-10 is not.
For thinning you may consider the use of sandpaper for steel with a linen backing, grit P120 to start with. Use a marker to make sure not to reach the very edge.
The reputation of being hard to sharpen has nothing to do with being particulary resistant, but rather with a very specific deburr problem - the burr won't get off, and has to be abraded.

Thanks guys. Gonna work on it before work today. The knife is the 8" chefs Ikea VG10 "Damascus." I actually love this knife. It was given to me by my well meaning mother for my birthday this year, as well as their 5" utility, 3" paring, and 8" bread. At first I was like thanks mom.... But after I used them for a while as beaters, I came to enjoy them, mainly the chefs and bread. It holds a nice toothy edge, gets nice and sharp and the f&f is pretty good. And being stainless its great as a service/line knife for me, and I don't mind lending it to the other guys if needed.

My only issue is it wedges like crazy on hard foods, and as its close to squash season, I want to resolve this before I get too frustrated. I know I will screw up the etching, but that's no issue, I'll just polish whee I loose it. So it seems the recommendation is to start with some 220 then work my way up to the stones, correct? Again, thanks a million

Last edited by Jmadams13; 10-12-2012 at 09:27 AM.
Reason: Spelling and grammar

When geometry is involved, go by little steps, and verify in between. Heavy thinning both sides may make wedging to get even worse. Start with removing shoulders and thinning right behind the edge, before going any further.

I thinned just behind the edge and worked on the shoulders. I have to break down a crap ton of butternuts tonight, so ill see how it feels. Thanks for the advise. And I gave me a reason to ride out to the hardware store to buy sandpaper, always fun